When is International Left-handers Day?

In order to integrate these social outcasts into society, back in 1976 someone in the US thought it’d be a great idea to raise awareness of their plight. And they did. They spoke of the brutalities these people have seen, the injustice, and the everyday reminders that they are lesser human beings than their compatriots…

Wait, what are we talking about?

Left-handed people.

But let us be serious, now. Back in 1976, a group of US citizens did in fact want to raise awareness of the problems left-handed people have to face every day. What kind of problems, you might wonder? Well, there are many. Granted, these issues are not very serious, but they are present. Only 10% of the world is left-handed. 90% is right-handed. So, by way of logic, left-handed people live in a right-handed world.

Right?

Right.

Hipper decided to take part in letting people know of the hardships our left-handed brethren have to endure every day. This is why we’ve compiled a list of 15 different facts, trivia and helpful advice on the International Left-handers Day. Besides being very tough opponents in tennis and ping-pong, let’s find out what these elusive creatures are all about:

7-10% of the world is left-handed. Apparently, it has been this way for centuries now, and isn’t likely to change in the near future. Also, far more men are left-handed than women.

Did you know they burned people at the stake for being left-handed? Yeah, that’s right. Throughout history, they thought that left-handed people were witches. And warlocks. And whatever the current political and religious climate didn’t approve of.

Did you ever think about how difficult it is for left-handed people to write? You, as a right-handed person, write from left to right, right? Also, your hand is on the opposite side of the letters, written in ink or pen or graphite. Left-handed people have to write with their hand on the same side as the letters, therefore smudging and staining and making one big mess out of the paper they’re writing on.

Consequently, they stain their hands. Can you imagine how irritating that must be? Luckily, more and more schools use computers for all their students’ writing needs.

Touching upon point nr. 4 – computer mice. Have you realized that most computer mice are designed for right-handed people?

Handshaking. Imagine shaking someone’s hand with your left hand as a rightie? Sounds like a nightmare, right? Well, that’s exactly what it is – especially when you consider the fact that the Western world deems it impolite to shake hands using your left hand (which the lefties would much prefer). According to an internet source, this all began in the Middle Ages, when people used their left hand to wipe their behinds after going to the toilet.

All restaurant food you’ll ever eat for the rest of your lives will be served with the accompanying utensils to the right of the plate. This doesn’t sound like much, but try asking a left-handed person on how vehemently they hate having to redistribute the knives and forks and spoons every. single. time. they sit down to lunch.

In Latin, the word “sinestra” originally meant “left,” but later on found alternate meanings as “evil” and “unlucky”. Why, this is exactly what the poor lefties need.

Initially, Christianity thought of the left as evil too. Within the Last Judgment, they described sending the damned to the left, and the saved to the right.

A study at the University of Yale showed that left-handed people are more likely to develop schizophrenia. We haven’t read through the entire study to be able to tell you what the cause is, but it’s been proven.

Apparently, left-handed men make more money. University-educated lefties earned on average a whopping 13% more than their right-handed mates. However, left-handed women make about 5% less than their right-handed friends. Go figure.

Barack Obama, the former US president, is a leftie. There are a few more lefties among the celebrities: Eminem, Lisa Kudrow, Oprah, Robert DeNiro, Bill Gates, Angelina Jolie…

Experts claim that left-handed people are better thinkers, make quicker decisions, and are better at maths and IQ tests than right-handed people.

However, studies have shown that lefties live on average 9 years less than righties. Also, the poor lefties seem to get drunk quicker – well this is a crying shame, innit?

A few more famous, very intelligent and very capable people were left-handed: Benjamin Franklin, Michelangelo, Mark Twain, Aristotel, Friedrich Nietzsche, Kafka…

This list was designed to entertain you, teach you a few interesting facts backed up by the scientific community, but make you laugh as well. Celebrate the 13th August as recognition of the arduous hardships your left-handed friends have to face every single day of their live. Let them know they are not alone. Show them that despite their incredible stamina and willingness to live, you are aware of what they’re going through. You are not blind, not deaf, and certainly not insensitive to their difficulties. This week you will stand with them, by them, and for them. The whole world will finally understand what it’s like when the restaurant staffs, once again (!), place the cutlery to the right of the plate.

Now, even though it’s easy to detect a tone of mockery in the paragraph above, that is just for entertainment purposes. Do understand that it might be irritating to live your life and realize everything in Western society has been set up for people different than you – i.e., your needs and wishes were overlooked, without anyone ever figuring it important that the tuna can opener can be actually used by a left-handed person as well.

At times, it really gets frustrating.

However, despite the insurmountable obstacles left-handed people face, we at Hipper sure think they will live to tell the tale.

Hey, at least our flowers, cards and gift-baskets are designed for both the leftie and the righty among you. Ambidextrous gifts for a better world – happy International Left-handers Day!

Florence Hazel is a full-time writer with a Masters in English and Sociology. Florence believes that if a single person benefits in some way from her writing, be it physically, emotionally, mentally, or any other kind of –ally, her job was a job well done. She made it her goal to sell happiness and well-being as much as she does flowers and cards. To quote the song Florence starts obsessively humming when words get muddled at the end of an 8-hour workday, “One, two, three, my writing opts for clarity!”